Homeschool vs Public School Statistics Infographic
I realize that not all WriteAtHome students, and certainly not all of our regular blog visitors, are homeschoolers, but the great majority of WriteAtHome families choose to educate at home. I thought, therefore, that you would appreciate this new infographic from the folks at College@Home.
The parts I found most interesting are:
- The statistics that show neither household income nor the amount spent on homeschooling has any significant effect on student success.
- The “socialization” score that places homeschoolers much higher than public schoolers. I’m curious about how they measure that, by the way.
It’s not that I’m surprised that homeschoolers are better “socialized,” since I can’t think of an institution that, generally speaking, does a poorer job of socializing than public high schools (at least from my experience).
I’d love to hear what you think about this!
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I am a home school grad and this infographic was great, but can I ask where the data was pulled from? Is it from an official site like Department of Ed or an official census? THanks!
The folks who made thie graphic cited their sources at the bottom of the graphic, Phylicia.
Omygosh, thank you so much! A friend of my directed me to this, and it’s awesome! I’m trying to continue homeschooling throughout high school, and this will definitely help my case!
Glad to help, Audrey. Btw, my oldest daughter whom we homeschooled all the way through is going to college on an almost full academic scholarship. Homeschooling can be a very effective way to learn.
Those statistics I tell ya! I love the chart! It’s amazing how many stereotypes are out there for homeschoolers! Is it because it isn’t the “norm” that so many negative comments are made… This will put some homeschoolers at ease reading your article! I was never homeschooled, but homeschool my children. I have dealt with comments from those who oppose it. Sometimes you wish you had this chart with you at those moments! My children are far advanced in many areas compared to friends and family who are the same age. And they spend far less time doing “school” and more time enjoying their time and still excel.
Glad the graphic encouraged you Jen! We homeschool our four girls too.
But this info graphic falls way short in that it doesn’t compare like with like. For instance, we’re told that “only 13% of American high school students are proficient in US history” – but we aren’t told what percentage of homeschoolers are proficient. In fact the only places I see a direct comparison is regarding percentile test scores, GPA, graduation rates, and the final “socialization” statistics.
Hey, I’m all for homeschooling and homeschoolers, that’s why I’ve invested the last 15 years of my life doing it, but I don’t find this infographic very informative.
Good point, Wendy. The data in the top third of the graphic isn’t comparative. It’s just some random data–some kind of interesting, some not so much. But the bottom 2/3 is mostly comparison. I found it pretty informative. The U.S. History stat seemed a little random to me too though.
I homeschooled three to college and all graduated and are working in their major field. I was on the board of a state homeschool org. for 10 years, and I helped get our homeschool law, testifying in the legislature. That said, since many homeschoolers administer standardized tests in non-standard ways, like at the kitchen table and the fact that there are no test norms for individuals being administered these group tests, the scores are not valid that result. Any child testing in the comfort of his/her own home will do better than in a group setting. There is no way a mom testing her child won’t stop the test if there are tears when the child doesn’t recognize what guide words are on the third grade test. Other than that I think the other statistics ring true.
Thank you Wendy for adding clarity around the standardized tests. As a science major I was skeptical of the data immediately because the vast amount of differing variables throw the data off. I also think a major factor is overlooked in this info graphic and that is the level of parent involvement. I am sure you will see across the board, grades and scores go up incrementally with parent involvement regardless of homeschool vs. public school. I’m all for either way as long as parents are taking an active role in their children’s education.
Since I’m a visual learner, I appreciated the graphs on all these statistics. I didn’t learn anything new, but for the socialization test, I think I read what standard they used at the college level. One of them I remember was “participation in class discussion.” Another I think was their circle of friends was broader, and they participated more in extra-curricular events and volunteering.
I never liked the “us vs. them” mentality, however, these facts are excellent to use for the nay-sayers who are critical of homeschooling. I’ve been told that since I was a teacher, that I’m “qualified” to teach my kids. I just smile slyly, because they don’t have to know that my teaching degree was in music! I’m just as lost as my kids with upper level math and chemistry.
Success is more than test scores and graduation rates too, something this study didn’t show.
Thanks for the info on the socialization question, Lois. I don’t like the us vs. them thing either, but as a homeschooling dad, I often get asked about the effectiveness of home education and it’s comforting to know that generally homeschoolers compare well to public school kids.
I completely agree with your point about success. In fact, it’s not something that can be measured on graphs at all, really.